


fish out of water

by captainswanouat



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Modern Merman AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 10:03:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13144332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainswanouat/pseuds/captainswanouat
Summary: Killian Jones truly just wanted to live a normal life. Go to class, come home, finish his education, and hide the fact that he is, in fact, a merman. He was into his final year of school and so far, nobody had caught on to his charade; but all good things must come to an end sometime and truly, it was his own fault it happened.Based on the prompt: “I know it's late and I don't know you but I hear you can talk to fish and I'm worried my goldfish is depressed”





	fish out of water

**Author's Note:**

> captain swan secret santa gift for cocohook38 on tumblr! :)
> 
> (unbeta'd, so all mistakes are my own)

Killian Jones truly just wanted to live a normal life.

Go to class, come home, finish his education, and hide the fact that he is, in fact, a merman.

It was a simple request which was granted by the God's of the sea, allowing him to walk among the human race (with the help of the enchanted bracelet around his wrist). There was a simple catch, however; if his feet touched the ocean, then it was back to growing a tail and waiting until the effects of the water wore off. 

He was into his final year of school and so far, nobody had caught on to his charade.

But all good things must come to an end sometime and truly, it was his own fault it happened.

* * *

 

He had chosen a small school just off the coast and only hundreds of yards from the beach. While he had to stay away for his own sake, he couldn't stomach the idea of isolating himself from the ocean for the majority of a year. So this school was the perfect combination of a a good education while being close enough to home. Dorm living had served him well in his first two semesters, but when the lack of space began to drive him stir crazy, into an apartment he went. After an entire life of living in the ocean, the cramped dorm living just wasn’t going to cut it.

The apartment complex he inevitably chose had immediately piqued his interest due to the large fish tank that sat in the middle of the lobby- it was like a little home away from home that he could enjoy when he was missing the water more than usual. Every now and then he found himself drawn downstairs, towards the tank, before finding a seat and quietly speaking to the fish. He kept quiet so nobody would hear him, cause the last thing he needed was his entire complex thinking he was a crazy person- even if they wouldn't realize he was  _ actually _ conversing with the fish. 

And it was one day in the middle of his last semester that he realized he was not nearly as subtle as he had thought.

It was late. He wasn’t even sure how late it was, but it was late enough that he was unfortunately aware of how dreadful his 9am class was sounding. With a steaming hot cup of tea in his hands he made his way towards his room, when a knock to his door nearly sent the mug sailing towards the ground. Correcting himself, he glanced towards his front door with a scowl on his face. He had friends in his classes, but he never allowed anyone to get to close on the off chance they'd find out his secret (and really, who would calmly react to finding out someone is part fish?). So the fact anyone was at his door was.... surprising to say the least. 

That, and the fact that it was well past a respectable hour to be stopping by someone’s flat. 

He set his mug down on the counter and made his way to his front door, jumping slightly as the person frantically knocked  _ again _ .

"Bloody hell, I'm coming," he grumbled, retching his door open.

A woman, not much younger than himself, was standing in the hallway; a distressed look on her face, and a guppy in a bag of water in her hand. 

Her blonde curls tumbled over her shoulders and black rimmed glasses framed her face; he'd seen his fair share of sirens in his life and, at this point, wouldn't be surprised if this blonde goddess was one.

"Can... I help you?" 

The woman looked up, pleading green eyes meeting his and really, how was it possible a woman was this gorgeous?  "You're the guy that talks to the fish, right?"

That was the second time in a minute he felt the air leave his lungs.

"I uh... talk... to the fish?"

Real smooth, Killian.

"Yeah, the guy that sits in the lobby and talks to the fish in the tank."

He was mentally smacking himself. "I believe you might have me confused with someone else, I'm sorry lass-"

She held up the bag, a reassuring hand reaching towards him. "Please. I know it’s late, but I'm not here to make fun of you. I really, really need your help."

He let out a deep sigh, raking his hand through his hair. “What do you need, love?”

She glanced inside the bag, nose scrunching way too adorably. “I think my fish is depressed.”

His eyes widened near comically. “Your fish is depressed?”

If looks could kill, Killian was sure he would be dead from the glare she lowered in his direction.

“I’m not making fun of you for talking to fish, don’t make fun of me for being worried about Flounder.”

_ Oh my God I think I’m in love _ .

“My apologies, love. Why don’t you… come in.” He swept his arm into the entryway of his apartment, reaching up to nervously scratch the back of his neck as the mysterious fish worrier followed him in. Glancing in her direction, he saw her taking in the space, still cradling the small bag in her hand, before hopping onto one of the stools in his kitchen. 

She smiled timidly at him while gently placing the bag on the counter. “So how does this work?”

“Well a good starting point would be for you to tell me your name.” He reached into a cabinet and pulled out two mugs. “Also, how do you take your coffee?”

“Black, like my soul,” she replied, a sardonic smile curling on her lips. 

_ Yep, definitely in love. _

“Well, we’ve got at least one thing in common,” Killian replied, turning on his coffee pot. He grabbed the forgotten (and now cold) mug of tea off the counter and poured it down the sink; he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be sleeping any time soon. Glancing backwards, he expected her to answer the first part of his question and give him her name- but she remained silent on her stool, and something told him not to push it. 

He didn’t really  _ need _ to know her name, anyway.

Not 2 minutes later he had two mugs full of black coffee, sliding one towards the siren in his kitchen before turning his attention to her fish. Killian had been presented with many difficult situations in his life but in this one he truly was stumped; what exactly was he supposed to do in this situation? Normally when he talked to the fish, he was alone and not being watched (or so he thought, at least). The whole thing didn’t seem right when he was standing in front of a human who would be watching his every move.

He must have been quiet longer than he realized as the woman spoke up. “Is there anything you need from me?”

“I just…” Killian reached up to scratch behind his ear; a nervous tick. “I mean, you don’t find this a little weird? The idea of me… talking to the fish?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Honestly? Not really. One of my foster homes growing up had a cat, and I used to talk to her like she could understand me.” Killian noted the way her eyes widened, and she shook her head slightly. “Would it be easier if I left?

_ Probably. _ “No!” He answered much too quickly, causing his guest to arch an eyebrow at him. “I uh… I mean as long as you’re not put off by it, no, you… you don’t need to leave.”

“No judgement here. I just appreciate you doing this. To be honest, I thought you would find me crazy because I thought my fish was depressed.”

Laughing lightly, he motioned towards himself. “Well I guess we’re both worrying about things we needn’t. Let’s see the little bugger.” She slid the bag across the counter, and Killian pursed his lips together. “To be entirely honest, love, I’m sure he doesn’t enjoy the tiny little bag much.”

The woman immediately groaned while leaning her elbows against the counter. “I know,” she whined. “But I thought it would be too weird to just come up here and invite you down to my apartment because ‘hey my fish is depressed’ and I didn’t want to seem like I was coming onto you-” She groaned again, this time putting her face in her hands. “Not that- not that I WOULDN’T come on to you-”

“Lass, it’s okay, I’m simply teasing. Mostly.” He cleared his throat before she can respond and turned his attention to the guppy in front of him.  _ Here goes nothing _ . “Good evening…. Flounder.” He glanced up and she nodded encouragingly, face still partially hidden behind her hands. “So your mum here tells me that something seems off with you.” As he talks, he can hear the quiet noises coming from the fish, so he closes his eyes to focus on understanding the poor thing. “Well, yes, I already informed her that fish don’t quite enjoy these small, enclosed, plastic bubbles.”

The woman gives an indignant huff. “I had no other choice!”

Killian chuckled and kept his attention on Flounder. “You hear that? She had no other choice. This was the best way to help make sure you were okay.” He can hear more guppy sounds, smiling as he listens. “You know, your mum was quite worried about you. So worried, in fact, that she came marching all the way down to my apartment in the dead of the night so as to make sure you were okay… aye, yes, I understand, Flounder. If I make sure to tell her, will you promise to perk up more for her? No more sadly swimming in your tank?” He takes the small response as promising enough, and gently pushed the bag back towards the blonde goddess on his stool.

“So, what’s the verdict, fish whisperer?”

Killian arched a brow at her. “I thought we weren’t making fun?” His lips curled into a smile before continuing. “Don’t worry love, there’s nothing to be concerned about. Flounder here is perfectly happy back at home in his tank. The stress you were giving off due to being worried about him, in return, made him stressed out. Not to fear, he promises to perk up in his tank more. He also requests that you feed him more than once per day; he gets a bit hungry between meals.”

The infectious laugh that bellowed from her belly makes him feel more alive than he has in years and he seriously cannot believe this woman is real. “You truly are a lifesaver,” she said while picking up the bag. “I’m sorry again for coming over so late… I was just starting to panic and didn’t know what else to do.”

“No apologies needed, love. I’m happy to help.”

Killian walked around the counter, offering the (still) nameless woman his hand to help her off the stool. She started making her way to the door, and he has to resist the urge to put his hand on the small of her back.

_ Snap out of it, Killian _ .

When she reached the door, he fully expected her to say goodbye and walk out of his apartment, never to be seen again- but she surprised him by stopping and turning around, looking up at him expectantly. After a few beats of unusual silence, he decided to take one more chance to at least get her name.

“Well, have a wonderful night, mysterious fish mom.”

She smiled at him, offering her hand. “My name is Emma.”

“Emma…” he said quietly, while taking her hand and brushing a feather light kiss across her knuckles.. “It’s lovely to meet you Emma. I’m Killian.”

“Well, thank you again, Killian.” The emphasis on his name sent a shiver down his spine. “And you don’t have to worry, your secret is safe with me.”

_ What? _ “My secret? What secret?” he asked, confusion lacing his brows. 

“I mean, it’s pretty obvious how you can talk to fish.”

His eyes blew wide, and he was nearly sure his heart was going to beat straight out of his chest. “I… I uh-”

She waved him off with a flourish of her hand. “You don’t have to pretend and you don’t have to hide it. To be honest, I think it’s pretty fucking awesome that an  _ actual _ merman is living in my apartment complex.” Killian’s eyes widened and Emma lips curled into a smirk. “Meet me in the lobby around 10am tomorrow, I’ll treat you to coffee and you can explain to me how you-” She gestured to his legs “-got those. Deal?”

He isn’t even sure what to say (or if he could even speak, to be honest) so he simply nods. Emma reached up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek, before slipping out the front door.

After a few beats of staring blankly at his front door he was sure of 2 things:

1- He was in deep shit.

and 2- There was no way he’d be making that 9am class in the morning.


End file.
